Shared Services Center (SSC) – Finance / Back-office Operations
Business Transformation (SSC Standardization & Centralization)
Project Management (lead role), Transformation Governance, IT & Business Coordination, Change Management
A multinational company aimed to transform its fragmented back-office card processing operations into a centralized SSC model across multiple countries.
Each country operated its own processes, systems, and support structures, resulting in high operational costs, limited transparency, and inconsistent service levels. The objective was to standardize and automate processes, enabling centralization and ultimately reducing operational costs by at least 15%.
The transformation had to be delivered without disrupting ongoing operations, while simultaneously introducing new service capabilities for end clients. Additional complexity came from legal, linguistic, and cultural differences, as well as varying levels of process maturity and system landscape across countries.
A key challenge was managing the parallel transformation of processes, organization, and IT systems—while maintaining stable day-to-day operations.
The transformation programme was structured into clear phases, starting with a detailed “as-is” process mapping across all countries. This provided full visibility into operational differences, workload distribution, and country-specific requirements, including regulatory constraints.
Based on these insights, standardized “to-be” processes were defined through a series of cross-country workshops, balancing global efficiency targets with local needs. A comprehensive transformation roadmap was then established, covering organizational changes, process standardization, and IT development.
From a PM perspective, strong emphasis was placed on coordinating business and IT workstreams. Separate business and IT project management roles were aligned to ensure synchronized delivery, particularly in areas where process changes and system developments were highly interdependent.
The programme followed a hybrid delivery model: agile methodology for IT development and a structured, milestone-based approach for overall transformation governance. Scope and requirements were continuously validated to reflect evolving business needs, ensuring controlled adaptation without losing delivery focus.
The transformation was successfully delivered over a 2.5-year period, achieving full standardization and centralization of back-office processes within the SSC model.
Automation significantly reduced manual workload, enabling workforce optimization and improved operational efficiency. The centralized setup also enhanced process transparency and consistency across countries.
Despite initial challenges and scope adjustments during execution, the programme maintained control over timelines and costs through structured governance and proactive risk management.
Client satisfaction improved due to the introduction of new, more efficient service capabilities, such as simplified administration and digital solutions.
The programme achieved a measurable cost reduction of approximately 15% across the affected operations, while also improving service quality and scalability.
Beyond financial impact, the transformation established a repeatable SSC model, including standardized processes, governance frameworks, and delivery practices that can be applied in future integration initiatives.
Key lessons included the importance of early scope validation, strong alignment between business and IT, and careful sequencing of standardization, automation, and organizational change to minimize delivery risks.
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